Sudan’s SPLM demands police apology after raids
September 18, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese former southern rebels who have joined the central government demanded an apology on Tuesday from the Interior Ministry for armed raids on its offices in Khartoum.
The call came amid an escalating war of words between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) headed by the country’s first vice president, Salva Kiir, and Interior Minister Bashir Taha, from the ruling party.
“The armed emirate and empire that Bashir Taha heads is not above the law and constitution, it should apologise and be held to account,” the SPLM said in a statement.
Heavily armed police stormed three SPLM offices in Khartoum on Sept 11, vandalised property, and in one case, broke down a door in raids the SPLM says followed slanderous attacks against senior SPLM officials in the national media.
The raids threatened to damage a partnership between the ruling party and former rebels created under a 2005 peace deal to end two decades of north-south civil war that left some 2 million people dead and forced 4 million to flee their homes.
One source said a portrait of the founder of SPLM leader John Garang, who died in a helicopter crash two years ago, was also destroyed.
“The minister of interior has overstepped his authority and the SPLM will ensure that the presidency, cabinet, the national parliament, as well as the Khartoum State parliament hold him to account,” the SPLM said.
The Interior Ministry has denied targeting the SPLM specifically but said it conducted operations to confiscate illegal weapons across the city. It said security forces netted a large quantity of weapons including assault rifles and rocket launchers.
“The police forces, officers, non-commissioned officers and policemen who participated in the programme to rid Khartoum of weapons, carried out their duties faithfully and did nothing that warrants an apology,” Taha said in a statement on Sunday.
The SPLM said its party leaders, as members of the coalition government, should have been informed and invited to be present if there was a legitimate reason to search the party premises.
On Saturday, assistant president and vice chairman of the ruling National Congress Party, Nafie Ali Nafie, said the police action on the SPLM premises was unfortunate and unjustified, which helped ease simmering tensions with the former rebels.
(Reuters)